Dan Hoyt, a well-known raw food chef and co-founder of the restaurant Quintessence, has been arrested for public lewdness on the subway, the police said on Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2015. (Credit: RawChefDan via Twitter)

Dan Hoyt, raw food chef, arrested again for subway lewdness

A raw food chef and serial subway pervert struck again Tuesday at a Manhattan station -- the third time this year, police officials said.

In the most recent episode, Dan Hoyt, 53, of the East Village approached a 25-year-old victim 12:20 p.m. on the downtown platform of the 8th Street subway station, police said.

He asked if he could masturbate in front of her, and then pulled down his pants when she said no, police officials said. The victim, who was not injured, called 911. She met the police officers, who began searching for the suspect.

The cops found Hoyt on the south end of the downtown platform staircase. The officers struggled with him briefly, and then took him into custody, police officials said. He was arrested on charges of resisting arrest, harassment, and public lewdness.

Police officials say he has also been linked to two sex attacks that the Manhattan Special Victims Unit has been investigating at the 8th Street station and Union Square at the beginning of the year.

On New Year’s Day, he exposed himself to a 24-year-old victim at the 8th Street station, police officials said. On Jan. 2, he allegedly followed a woman onto the train at Union Square, and rubbed himself against her leg.

Hoyt became notorious for his creepy acts in the subway when he was arrested five times in 2005 and 2008, police officials said. He pleaded guilty in 2006 to misdemeanor public lewdness, and was sentenced to two years of probation and counseling.

He remained in police custody Wednesday awaiting arraignment. A message left on his phone wasn’t immediately returned.

Before the disturbing transit crimes, the raw food chef was known for starting the vegan, organic restaurant Quintessence, near his East 10th Street home, in 1999. The restaurant declined to comment.

The Manhattan Special Victims Unit recently changed its strategies for sex offenses in transit, policial officials added. They are now investigating every sex complaint that originates in transit within Manhattan.

Their investigators noticed the pattern of these three sex attacks, and held line-ups, leading to the different charges for Hoyt, police official said.